Scream
by Paceismyhero
Summary: "She'd giggled at the way his eyes narrowed on her even as his patented smirk emerged. Was it possible to have missed an expression? She'd never given it much thought, but suddenly she couldn't think of anything but Noah and the wide range of emotions he'd always made her feel." Oneshot inspired by Usher's "Scream". Rachel and Puck meet up at their 10-year high school reunion.


**Author's Note:** So here's that oneshot I promised "a week from now" ... a few months later. Oh well. I'm glad I finally got time to finish it, and I really hope to post at least the first chapter of a multi-chapter fic I'm working on before the actual TV premiere. *crosses fingers*

Regardless, please enjoy this little piece. As the summary suggests, this is inspired by (and uses lyrics from) Usher's song "Scream". As soon as I heard it, I went, "Puck". So, yea. Please read and let me know what you think!

* * *

Rachel Berry spun on her heels, her elbows resting back on the counter of the bar as she waited for her drink. Her eyes scanned over the nameless faces of the hundreds of people currently occupying the small hotel banquet room. She went to high school with these people just ten short years ago and yet outside of those in glee and a handful of others, Rachel couldn't remember any of them. They weren't even vaguely familiar, and it infuriated her because she knew the obligatory joke about her being too self-involved was bound to come up if someone else (Kurt) figured it out.

Luckily everyone seemed wonderfully distracted by the music pumping through the speakers at the front of the room. It was either that or the free drinks also seeping into the attendants of McKinley High's ten-year reunion. Either way, the evening had progressed from mindless small talk and catching up to buzzed reminiscing and drunken dancing on the twelve-foot-by-twelve-foot area of hardwood flooring directly in front of the aforementioned speakers. Music from their high school days was acting like a time portal for some, former students dancing the night away as if it were prom all over again. Mr. Schuester had even asked the old glee gang to perform (a la prom), but thankfully he couldn't make it work in time for Figgins (he was _still _the principal) to approve it.

It's not that Rachel didn't want to perform. Except, well, she didn't. She was a professional now and this vacation – a term she used loosely since it was Lima, Ohio and _no one_ would legitimately deem it a vacation – was meant to be her time away from it all. She'd practically left claw marks on the stage when she'd finally succumbed to Kurt and Blaine's pressuring and agreed to attend the reunion; her understudy had nearly died of shock. The last thing she wanted to do was belittle her career (not to mention her self-worth) by singing and dancing in front of a hundred-plus people who she couldn't remember but knew they'd hated her ten years ago.

"Sorry for the wait, Miss."

Rachel turned back to the bartender, smiling softly at the gentleman as she reached into her clutch for a tip. "It's perfectly fine," she assured him before tossing a twenty into the glass jar. He sighed graciously before starting another order; he looked to be about five behind and two people short of a full staff. Rachel hadn't minded waiting, especially for a free drink, but the growing line of her former classmates didn't seem as forgiving. One actually scowled at her when she passed with her drink to return to the table she'd been assigned to by the reunion committee; it seemed completely ridiculous to assign seats at such a function when the whole point was to mingle, but she'd learned over the years to keep her opinions to herself when she didn't care enough about the topic.

She took her seat at the empty table and moved the slim straw to her lips to sip at her drink, letting her eyes again move to the dance floor. She smiled when she honed in on the familiar faces in the crowd as opposed to the nameless ones. She couldn't help but be happy watching Mike and Tina dance together, clearly enjoying their night away from the chaos of raising four children all under the age of six. Rachel could remember a time when she'd thought she would still be with _her_ high-school sweetheart, but it was a faded memory and one that almost made her laugh now. It wasn't that she didn't believe in the love her and Finn had shared; it had been real and special and right for her at the time, but now she knew they were much better as just friends.

"Well if it ain't Rachel Barbra Berry."

She swiveled in her seat, her smile already widening before she looked up and focused on the matured face of the familiar voice. "Noah Eli Puckerman."

"Hey, watch it, babe." He turned his head from the left to the right, checking for eavesdroppers. "That's classified shit."

She shook her head at his behavior, not surprised when he took the seat next to her without asking first. Part of the reason she'd agreed to attend this horrid event had been based on curiosity alone, and Rachel could admit (only to herself) that she was most curious about the boy-turned-man sitting next to her. She'd done her best to stay in touch with all the glee kids just as they'd all promised during their senior year, but it was different with Noah. It always had been different with him, even when she didn't know why or when it perhaps wasn't appropriate for it to be so.

"Havin' some liquid courage before goin' out to bust a move?

"Santana already forced me to dance with her and Brittany earlier." She held out her drink in presentation. "I forgot how flexible Britt was." She sipped her drink coyly. "This will barely replenish me."

"I saw ya while I was in line for the bar," he commented too casually to be innocent. "Didn't need a drink after watchin' ya, just a cold shower."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "You're still as charming as ever, I see."

"And you're still as hot as ever." Puck's eyes roamed slowly over her body, deliberately. "Legit, Broadway done you good, Berry."

She blushed, but bowed her head graciously as she whispered, "Thank you, Noah."

They were long past the days of her being the social outcast and he one of the most popular boys in school, but she couldn't help but feel inferior next to him. She'd always been awed by him, whether it was his ability to talk his way out of any situation (and almost any girl's pants) or how sure of himself he'd always seemed. Back in senior year - when they were actually closer to friends than he'd probably ever admit - he'd told her in passing that he thought she was pretty close to perfect, but the truth was she'd often thought the same about him. She'd never told him, though; he wouldn't have believed her anyway, and it would have required a lot more explanation than either of them could afford at that point in their relationship.

Now, however, they were older. She could say anything she wanted to him, not just because he'd always been easy to talk to but because it was their high school reunion and she'd be back in New York in a couple of days if things went awry. From the corner of her eyes she tried to gauge his mood, but got caught up in his appearance; she again felt inferior next to him. His dress shirt fit him perfectly, stretched over his broad shoulders and chest while the color highlighted the crisp hue of his eyes. Eyes that continued to stare at her through her oogling, making her heart beat faster.

"You appear to still be in top physical form," she finally said, hoping her voice didn't sound as shaky as she thought it did. "What is it you do these days?"

"You mean other than think about ya naked?"

"Noah!" She screeched, her hands lifting to touch the top of her cheeks while she looked around to see if anyone had heard him.

"What?" He asked innocently, his smirk giving him away. "No point in denyin' it. Not anymore."

Her heart skipped a beat, her voice hopeful as she dropped her hands back to her lap and asked, "Anymore?"

"Come off it, Berry." Puck leaned in closer, his breath hot on her bare neck.

Once Kurt had all but forced her to put her commitment to the event in writing, he and Blaine had taken her shopping for the perfect attire. Apparently repurposing one of the dresses from any of the award shows or photo shoots was out of the question, as _someone _could have already seen her in said outfit. Rachel wanted to make a good impression on her former classmates (read: rub their no-good, doubting noses in her perfect, successful life), of course, but when either Blaine or Kurt said _someone_, they meant a man.

And even though she'd proclaimed her disapproval for their meddling then and would never admit it to them later, right now she couldn't have been more pleased with her outfit and its obvious affect on _someone_ right next to her. The dress draped over her curves beautifully and was an attractive shade of green, making her tanned skin pop that much more. It plunged dangerously low in the front and almost completely down to her rear in the back, and she could feel the exposed skin start to flush just from his proximity.

"S'no secret I've wanted you since high school." She gasped just at the insinuation. "Now we're here, practically thrown back in time. It's fate or some shit."

"I-I don't believe in fate," she stuttered, breathless just from the brief moment she'd considered his proposition. Rachel was sure he'd grown up since high school and she was probably being unfair to assume he was up to his same old tricks, but it didn't matter. The way he made her feel, both then and now, was too powerful to ignore. It made her act irrationally (more so than usual), and now more than ever she couldn't afford to get swept up in him – no matter how much she wanted to. "It's highly unlikely that you and I both attending our high school reunion is by some cosmic design."

Puck shrugged casually, so undeterred by her rejection that it offended her. "Guess so. These things are kinda the pinnacle of clichés." His eyes moved off her, noting the blonde in the corner. "Most popular chick drunk in the corner cryin' 'bout her shitty marriage and loser kids." Moving his gaze further left, he nodded toward a lanky man standing by a table of former jocks. "Super successful geek braggin' 'bout his money and boat and supermodel girlfriend." Then he looked back at her, swagger dripping from his pores. "Then there's us. Two old friends who used to date, both still insanely attracted to the other."

Rachel didn't even bother to refute him, instead playing along. "Next thing you know, the perfect song to capture our unspoken feelings for each other will start playing."

"We'll lock eyes and you'll think back to all our great moments."

"Which will take all of about four seconds," she replied quickly.

"Shut it, Berry."

She'd giggled at the way his eyes narrowed on her even as his patented smirk emerged. Was it possible to have missed an expression? She'd never given it much thought, but suddenly she couldn't think of anything but Noah and the wide range of emotions he'd always made her feel. "Is that really what you want?" She asked, her voice foreign to even her own ears as it took on a much more seductive tone than she had intended. What was he doing to her? "I thought you liked what I could do with my mouth."

"Fuck," he breathed out, his eyes closing even as his hands found their way to the tops of her thighs.

She wasn't sure when their bodies had turned toward one another, but as his thumbs stroked the tops of each of her legs and his long fingers smoothed over the bottoms just past the hemline of her dress, Rachel didn't much care. She felt dizzy at his touch, irrationally so. Had it always felt like this, or was she as desperate for the companionship of a male as Kurt said she was?

"That's awfully presumptuous of you, Noah."

"Can't help it." Puck finally opened his eyes again, Rachel inhaling sharply at the darkened orbs staring back at her. "It's like … fuckin' gravity. You said somethin' dirty and I was just pulled in."

It was preposterous to smile at such an insane excuse, but she couldn't help it. Irrationally, she liked the idea that his feelings for her might be as uncontrollable as hers for him. "Like a magnet?"

"Whatever, babe." He clung to her so tightly the tips of his fingers dented her skin. "I got a room upstairs."

"How nice for you," she joked, her tongue running over her suddenly dry lips when he growled at her response.

"I ain't playin', Berry. I need ya on your back, like, yesterday.'

She blushed severely, looking at him through her eyelashes as she slowly asked, "Why would I go with you?"

It was a stupid question, mainly because she knew the answer. In fact, there were about a million and one different reasons she could come up with in no less than a minute. The most important, of course, was the fact that this very situation had been the whole reason she'd finally agreed to come. Just the possibility of what he was offering had been reason enough for her to make the trip, and she couldn't deny it anymore. It wasn't as if Kurt truly believed he was persuasive enough to change her mind so suddenly, and he'd more than likely be too excited about the turn of events to even piece together Rachel's intentions.

Puck's voice dropped an octave, sounding almost as raw as the callus on his thumb that was stroking her knuckles when he said, "'Cause ya wanna see if I can make ya scream."

Rachel couldn't stop the goosebumps that rose on her skin any more than the smug grin that appeared on Puck's face afterward. Pride had been a huge issue with her in high school, and it hadn't really gone away, either. Regardless, she'd be kidding herself if she thought she could step away now. So she simply lifted her eyes back to his and nodded ever so slightly before tightening her hold on his hand and leading him to the elevator. When she leaned forward to press the up button by the doors, Puck pressed himself against her back and whispered in her ear.

"Ya better be ready to go all night, babe."

_I see you over there, so hypnotic_

_Thinkin' 'bout what I'd do to that body_

_I'd get you like ooh baby baby_

_Ooh baby baby, ah-ooh baby baby ooh baby baby_

_Got no drink in my hand, but I'm wasted_

_Gettin' drunk off the thought of you naked_

_I'd get you like ooh baby baby_

_Ooh baby baby, ah-ooh baby baby ooh baby baby_

_And I've tried to fight it, to fight it_

_But you're so magnetic, magnetic_

_Got one life, just live it, just live it_

_Now relax and get on your back_

_If you wanna scream, yeah_

_Let me know and I'll take you there_

_Get you going like_

_Ah-ooh baby baby ooh baby baby_

_Ah-ooh baby baby ooh baby_

_If you want it done right_

_Hope you're ready to go all night_

_Get you going like_

_Ah-ooh baby baby ooh baby baby_

_Ah-ooh baby baby ooh baby_

_If you wanna scream_

Rachel tore her lips from Noah's, gasping for breath as the two stumbled out of the elevator and toward what she assumed was his room. His hands hadn't left her body since the two entered the elevator, and yet somehow he was managing to navigate them in the right direction without any issues. Rachel, on the other hand, could barely see straight she was so aroused.

"Fuck."

Rachel grinned widely, her eyes fluttering open only to see that Puck wasn't overcome with passion (he was) but rather frustrated with the key card that was currently not granting him access to their private sanctuary. He tried again only to be greeted with a blinking red light, and if it hadn't been for her small frame separating him and the door, Rachel was sure he would have thrown a shoulder into it for good measure.

"Let me try."

"I got it."

Rachel watched him try again, this time jiggling the handle as he swiped the card in and out quickly. Of course, it didn't work. "Noah …"

"I can open a fuckin' door," he growled.

"I know you can," she placated, slowly running her hand down his arm. She toyed with his wrist and then made her way to his fingers, managing to pry the card out of his death grip after a particularly expert flick of her tongue and use of her teeth near his ear. "I just don't want to wait another second."

She managed to get her hands to stop shaking and, like magic, received the green light for the room on her first try. Puck groaned in disgust but pushed her inside, pushing her back against the door from the inside to shut it.

"Thanks for openin' the door and whatever, but that's the end of your dominating. Understood?"

Rachel wasn't sure she appreciated being spoken to like such, except for she did. His voice was so raw, so powerful and yet still desperate like it had been downstairs. She couldn't help the way her breath turned heavy and how her heart started to race again. She liked the idea of submitting to him, if only because she trusted him enough to do everything right. The look in his eyes told her as much, almost predatory as he waited for her to respond.

She nodded as she grabbed the lapels of his dress shirt, resuming her attempt to unbutton the garment all while (she hoped) kissing him senseless. For a brief moment she remembered what it was like to kiss him all those years ago, and she couldn't help but notice the same feelings she was currently feeling were there way back then, too. The only difference was _now_ she knew what to do with them.

"You're the fuckin' devil, babe," he groaned, pushing himself off the door when she'd squirmed out of his hold. She'd shot him her best come-hither look, challenging him to follow her (which was sort of her way of controlling the situation even after he'd demanded her not to). "Ya got no idea what you do to me."

"I want to hear about what you're going to do to me," she purred, letting her dress pool at her feet as she just stood by the large king-sized bed sitting in the middle of the room.

Puck slammed the lights off and pounced on her like a hunter going after his prey, his one hand gripping her ass possessively while the other held much of his weight off her once they'd settled on the mattress. "I'm gonna take you so hard right here. Then I'm gonna slow down and take my time fuckin' you good."

Rachel hummed in response, meeting his thrust with one of her own. He moaned at the contact but opened his eyes in warning. She smiled innocently and he actually rolled his eyes, lifting both her hands up to meet above her head and then holding them there with just one of his hands. It caused him to apply more weight to her body, and Rachel whimpered at the feeling.

"Do it, Noah. Please."

"I'm callin' the shots, babe."

"Noah," she whined pathetically, lifting her hips up into him again in hopes of getting her point across.

"Fuck, I changed my mind." He pulled back just a little, but Rachel couldn't suppress the sound of disappointment that escaped from low in her throat. "Torturin' you is kinda fun."

She glowered at his devilish grin, but forgave him the second he yanked her panties down her legs. He was fast but gentle, caressing the skin with his hands and tongue before finally reaching the apex of her thighs. Rachel withered in pleasure, unable to sit still as he proved just how much he enjoyed ripping the control from her life. For a moment she actually missed his ridiculous haircut from high school, splaying her fingers over his closely shaven head to try to pry him back up to her but failing miserably without anything to really grab.

"Baby," she moaned, attempting to entice him to speed things along with the rarely used (from her) term of endearment. It seemed to work, his head lifting a little and an eyebrow quirking up. "You have me the whole night. Just … take me now. Please."

"Ya ain't playin' fair, babe," he bemoaned, crawling back up her body with practiced ease. Without a moment of hesitation, Puck entered her, a loud gasp ripped from Rachel's lungs.

"Now who isn't playing fair?" She asked once she adjusted to the feel of him filling her, her smile tightening when he replied with a swivel of his hips. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she bit her bottom lip to help from calling out, but it was useless. "Ooh, baby."

"Fuck. Yeah." Puck continued to piston his hips deliberately, lowering his upper body down so his lips were right by Rachel's right ear. "Don't fight it, Berry. I wanna hear you scream."

She wanted to show a little dignity, but Puck chose that moment to curl one of his arms around her leg to lift it higher, allowing him to sink even deeper. "Ah-ooh." As if that wasn't enough, he then started to pound into her with reckless abandon until she, as requested, screamed out his name. "Noah!"

_Kill the lights, shut 'em off, you're electric_

_Devil eyes telling me 'Come and get it"_

_I'll have you like_

_Ooh baby baby ooh baby baby_

_Ah-ooh baby baby ooh baby baby_

_Girl tonight you're the prey_

_I'm the hunter_

_Take you here, take you there_

_Take you under_

_Imagine me whispering in your ear_

_Then I wanna take off all your clothes and put something on ya_

_And I've tried to fight it, to fight it_

_But you're so magnetic, magnetic_

_Got one life, just live it, just live it_

_Now relax and get on your back_

_If you wanna scream, yeah_

_Let me know and I'll take you there_

_Get you going like_

_Ah-ooh baby baby ooh baby baby_

_Ah-ooh baby baby ooh baby_

_If you want it done right_

_Hope you're ready to go all night_

_Get you going like_

_Ah-ooh baby baby ooh baby baby_

_Ah-ooh baby baby ooh baby_

_If you wanna scream_

Rachel opened her eyes, a smile already spreading across her face when she felt him stir underneath her. "I'm still _literally _catching my breath." His rumble of laughter jostled her a little, Rachel moving her hands underneath her chin to steady herself better on his stomach.

"You're welcome."

She rolled her eyes but relaxed back into his frame, her eyes lifted so she could see him. She watched as he unclasped his hands from behind his head, her eyes focusing on a small, metal band on his ring finger that she'd ignored earlier. Absently her thumb toyed with her own ring on the same finger, her voice low as she said, "That ring suits you."

"Thing's a chick magnet." He grinned. "Once broads see I'm marriage material, the clothes just fall off."

"Noah!" Rachel chastised, smacking his side before resettling herself on his stomach. "You better be joking."

"Of course I am, babe. It's only been two days." He winked for good measure. "I haven't been able to test the theory yet."

Rachel started to pout. "I don't want to play anymore." She frowned deeply, sticking out her bottom lip. "Take it back."

Puck chuckled deeper, weaving his hands through Rachel's hair as she continued to lie between his legs. "I take it back," he parroted. "But I toldja you'd break before me."

"You weren't playing fair." She lifted herself onto her elbows, scurrying up his frame until she was nestled at his side. "And I think I should get some credit for avoiding you the entire day."

"Fuck that noise. I should get a damn medal for not fuckin' you right on that dance floor."

Rachel giggled, kissing the side of his neck while she tangled her legs with his. It had been fun pretending that they hadn't seen or really talked to each other since high school, but she thought this was even better. "I think Santana knows."

"We knew either her or Kurt would figure it out first." He shrugged, his fingers dancing lazily up and down her arm. "She'll at least be happy or whatever. Kurt's gonna try to talk you out of it."

"He will not," she insisted. "The whole reason Kurt wanted me to come to this reunion was to start Puckleberry 2.0."

He laughed at the name. "Little does he know we started that more than a year ago."

Rachel smiled dreamily, thinking back to the moment a little more than a year ago when she and Noah reconnected. She'd come home for the holidays and a much-needed break from the stage and he was in town tending to family matters; his mother was a wreck after his little half-brother drunkenly drove his car into the side of a building, and he didn't want his little sister to defer her early acceptance to college like she'd suggested. Their relationship had started slow, moving from a friendship they'd both always accepted was there to something deeper, which took longer for them to both accept had been there all along, too.

They dated secretly for almost a year, evading questions from their closest friends and family, and two days ago had decided to get married. It was something they'd joked about before - the two of them getting hitched before anyone knew they were dating - and, for whatever reason, between her lunch with Mercedes, Kurt and Blaine and his basketball game with Mike and Sam had seemed like the perfect moment. They were both back where it all started (and started again), they both knew it wasn't going to get any better than it was with the other (Noah agreed about the sex first, then the love stuff later), and they were already going to have to tell everyone everything once Noah moved to New York next week anyway. It was perfect timing.

"You realize you're going to have to stop calling me 'Berry' right? It shall remain as only my stage name."

He shone with pride, but joked, "I've been callin' ya that since we were seven. Ain't stoppin' just 'cause you were dumb enough to marry me."

"And dumb enough to engage in sexual congress with you in a room I'm certain is not yours."

"I stole the key from Sam's wallet earlier," he admitted.

She rolled her eyes. "Well, we should probably get back to the reunion. No doubt someone is curious of our whereabouts."

"No way, _Berry_." He quickly grasped her by the upper elbows, keeping her still as he hinged forward and crashed his lips against hers. He pulled away a moment later, whispering huskily, "I said all night, and I meant it."

Rachel giggled, succumbing to his advances. After all, she didn't want to argue with her husband.


End file.
